How Michigan personal representative compensation actually works
Michigan has no percentage schedule — but it's genuinely self-administered, and it comes with a real transparency requirement when an attorney wears both hats.
1. Reasonable compensation, paid as you go
MCL § 700.3719(1): "A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services performed. A personal representative may pay the personal representative's own compensation periodically as earned without prior court approval." No percentage, no dollar table — but also no need to ask permission first, though the fee still has to be accounted for later.
2. A real transparency rule for attorney personal representatives
§ 700.3719(2): if an attorney serves as personal representative, the attorney must maintain time records stating who performed personal representative services, the date, the amount of time spent, and a brief description of the work. Upon request of an interested person affected by payment of the fee, the attorney must send those time records to that person.
3. The will controls — unless there's no contract with the decedent
§ 700.3719(3): if the will sets compensation and there's no contract with the decedent about it, the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and get reasonable compensation instead. But: "a written contract between the decedent and the personal representative regarding compensation for estate settlement services is binding on the personal representative" — an actual signed agreement with the decedent overrides everything, with no renunciation option.
4. General renunciation, served on everyone affected
§ 700.3719(4): a personal representative may also renounce all or part of the compensation generally. A written renunciation may be filed with the court and must be served on all affected interested persons — not just filed quietly.
5. What courts actually weigh
Absent a statutory formula, Michigan courts commonly look at the nature and complexity of the work involved (time, effort, difficulty, skill required), and the compensation customarily charged in the community for similar services — alongside whether probate litigation was necessary. Since the Estates and Protected Individuals Code took effect on April 1, 2000, Michigan courts have decided a body of case law specifically addressing what counts as reasonable fiduciary compensation.
| Component | Michigan figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory formula | None — "reasonable compensation" only | MCL § 700.3719(1) |
| Court approval needed before paying self? | No | MCL § 700.3719(1) |
| Attorney-PR time records | Required, sent on interested-person request | MCL § 700.3719(2) |
| Decedent-PR written contract | Binding, no renunciation option | MCL § 700.3719(3) |